The SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT THING for building a successful film career.
Since I’ve developed a bit of a following due to my projects, blogs, podcast appearances, books, and speaking I regularly get people asking me for my time and expertise. Generally, I’m more than happy to share some basic information and help fellow travelers along the journey to making a career out of independent film. It’s a gargantuan task, and everyone doing it needs and deserves support. That’s a big part of the reason I blog as much as I do, as well as why I’ve been spending so much time on Clubhouse as of late.
I consider sharing knowledge to be doing my part to build a strong and vibrant film community. However, a community only functions properly when all of it’s members are willing to help each other for the good of the community. This essentially means that any good community functions on the reciprocal relationships of the members working within it.
On a Clubhouse chat, I was recently asked what the single most important key to success in the film business is. My response was relationships. The film industry is still largely a business dependent on gatekeepers. With the success we’ve had at Mutiny, I’ve become something of a gatekeeper myself. The reason gatekeepers have the power we do is that we’ve spent time building relationships that help all those involved in the various deals we strike. If these relationships weren’t reciprocal, they would not have value.
Any functional business relationship has everyone involved in helping each other and coming out better than when they went in. I’m happy to promote a friend’s projects and support fellow filmmakers in any way I can. If it’s within my capabilities, I try to actually distribute their work. However, much of this support is through speaking, blogging, and the content I provide to the independent film community about distribution, marketing, packaging, and financing.
Maintaining good reciprocal relationships in any business is vital to success, especially when you’re starting out. This is particularly true in the film industry. The old adage it’s not what you know but who you know is particularly true in this close-knit community. Some people would call it your personal brand. In business classes I’ve taken, a brand is defined as the total of any individual’s every interaction they’ve had with a company. In practice, it’s a reputation. As such, your personal brand is synonymous with your reputation. If your reputation is that of always being there and helping to build the careers of those within your community, then it will carry you farther than you likely expect.
However there are some people who continually ask for advice, and expect support without giving anything in return. These are the people that you haven’t talked to in years who send you a cold email about their giant crowdfunding campaign that doesn’t have any traction.
This sort of thing has happened to me more than I can count. I’m sure it’s happened to you as well. In fact, it’s a lot of why I wrote this blog which has now been rewritten and republished 3 times. I made a habit of sending it to people who did that for a bit. Everyone only has so many hours in a day, and if you expect help you’ve got to be willing to give it in return.
If you’re the type who wants help, but is unwilling to help others in return, then your involvement in a community won’t help to build it, it will sap the life out of it. People who don’t understand that the nature of any good relationship is reciprocal, then they’re simply not worth doing business with.
Good business isn’t about how much you can get out of the other person, it’s about finding a mutually beneficial arrangement. Good business is about rising the tide and all boats along with it.
If you want support, you must you’re willing to provide it as well. While it may not always be equal, there needs to be some level of reciprocity in any business dealings. If one continually takes and never gives, it won’t be long before that well of support runs dry.
Again, a good business deal leaves each party better off than when they started. If you push too much for yourself without taking the other party’s needs into account, then you’re not going to be building the relationships you need to thrive in an industry as highly competitive as the film industry. It can destroy not only communities, but companies, friendships, and romantic relationships as well.
Always being open to help others is exhausting, but it pays off in the long run. If you’ve been helping others wherever possible, when you need a favor there are plenty of people to provide it. If you only take favors then it won’t be long before you have no one left to help you.
Thanks for reading. If you’d like to find out more about me or what I do, check out www.mutinypictures.com, or www.theguerrillarep.com/blog.
